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I am not so sure about the Chinese now.
Saina Nehwal will be in contention for the WC WS title in August 2010.
She won back to back to back (1 Grand Prix and 2 Super Series) titles this year and is strong mentally and with Pullela Gopichand the former AE MS champion as her coach, SN will hone her skills even more.
I just root for her to win.

World No 2 badminton player Saina Nehwal calls for endorsements

Nehwal, who appears to be determined to become Queen of the badminton world by reaching the top rank soon, has started attracting the attention of corporations as a potential brand ambassador.

Hyderabad: She may not be able to scale the heights of Mahinder Singh Dhoni's Rs2.1 billion (Dh165 million) deal but India's badminton sensation and world No 2 badminton player Saina Nehwal is about to give other stars some tough competition in brand endorsements.

Nehwal, who appears to be determined to become Queen of the badminton world by reaching the top rank soon, has started attracting the attention of corporations as a potential brand ambassador.

Herbalife, the US company which direct-sells nutrition products and energy drinks signed up 20-year-old Nehwal for an undisclosed amount for one more year on Friday.

************************************************** ****************
Note: Rs 4 million is about USD 85,000.
More of this in badminton please...Hopefully more Chinese companies can start sponsoring the sport.

Saina Nehwal said the game of badminton would remain her first love

Nehwal, who appears to be determined to become Queen of the badminton world by reaching the top rank soon, has started attracting the attention of corporations as a potential brand ambassador.

Hyderabad: She may not be able to scale the heights of Mahinder Singh Dhoni's Rs2.1 billion (Dh165 million) deal but India's badminton sensation and world No 2 badminton player Saina Nehwal is about to give other stars some tough competition in brand endorsements.

Nehwal, who appears to be determined to become Queen of the badminton world by reaching the top rank soon, has started attracting the attention of corporations as a potential brand ambassador.

Herbalife, the US company which direct-sells nutrition products and energy drinks signed up 20-year-old Nehwal for an undisclosed amount for one more year on Friday.

************************************************** ****************
Note: Rs 4 million is about USD 85,000.
More of this in badminton please...Hopefully more Chinese companies can start sponsoring the sport.

.
Well said by Saina Nehwal;

Though the worth of the deal between Nehwal and Herbalife was kept under wraps, sources said that it could be between Rs3 million to Rs5 million.

Nehwal's endorsement value had zoomed up following her recent victories and her rise to the world's number two in World Badminton Federation rankings, sources said.

"It will go up to Rs10 million per endorsement if she succeeds in becoming world number one," a market expert said.

Badminton No 1 Saina Nehwal awarded India's highest sporting honour

India's Saina Nehwal, the world No 2, has been awarded India's highest sporting honour.

By Rod Gilmour
Published: 4:29PM BST 30 Jul 2010

Joy: Saina Nehwal displays her medals to the crowd on her arrival at the airport in Hyderabad, India in July Photo: AP

India in July Photo: AP Nehwal was named the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award after a string of impressive performances that saw her become the first Indian to win a Super Series title when she triumphed at the 2009 Indonesia Badminton Open.

"I am really happy. It's unbelievable, a dream come true for me," she said. "I have done well in the last two years and the three titles that I won recently have really boosted my confidence.

"I am now preparing for the World Championship and hope to win the title," she said.
Nehwal, this year's All England Championships semi-finalist, is now a serious threat for next month's World Championships in Paris.

Saina has put icing on a fitness revolution

Saina Nehwal being picked for India's highest sporting distinction, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, puts her in the league of another young achiever, cue legend Pankaj Advani, who got it when just 20, a year younger than Saina.It will no doubt provoke comparsions with tennis queen Sania Mirza. I won't fall into this trap. I would rather try and put Saina in perspective vis-a-vis other baddy players.

Saina, the BPCL player, is No 2 in the world.

Saina is the first Indian woman to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics. She went on o win the World Junior Badminton Championships and capped a fine run with a hat-trick of wins clinching the Indonesian Open in 2009, the Singapore Open title in June, 2010, and the Indonesian Open a week later. These wins make here arguably our best baddy player, man and woman going solely by international performances.

Winning two Super Series events is like winning two All England Championships. Our men legends, Prakash Padukone and Gopichand one one each while Prakash also won one World Open. To use the words of Pradeep Gandhe, former Asian Games doubles bronze winner and vice-president of the Badminton Federation of India, a volcano has erupted. Gandhe pays tribute to the focus of Saina after the setback of not going beyond the first round for a full year in 8-10 events after reaching the last eight of the Beijing Olympics.She was working onher fitness and it all erupted in the season 2009-10. Any other player would have been disheartened.

In years past there were fine women players like Mumtaz Lotwala, Shashi Bhatt, Prem Parasher, Sushila Kapadia, Manda Kelkar, Meena Shah, Sudesh Minocha, Razia Latif, Vasanti Yederi, Tehmi Shroff, Siloo Vakil, Damayanti Subedar,Nirupama Pradhan, Sharayu Phalnikar, Shobha Moorthy and Uma Murthy. Lotwala was a great striker and agile. Parashar was a returning machine. Kapadia had great attacking shots. Kelkar, who died young, had steadiness and great footwork. Shashi and Minocha were good partners to our great Nandu Natekar in the mixed doubles.Uma was the partner of Prakash.

I am now preparing for the World Championships and hope to win the title

Originally Posted by lcleing

India's Saina Nehwal, the world No 2, has been awarded India's highest sporting honour.

"I am really happy. It's unbelievable, a dream come true for me," she said. "I have done well in the last two years and the three titles that I won recently have really boosted my confidence.

"I am now preparing for the World Championships and hope to win the title," she said. Nehwal, this year's All England Championships semi-finalist, is now a serious threat for next month's World Championships in Paris.

While it is good that Saina has almost single-handedly aroused great interest in India on the badminton game and side-lined cricket for a while, I hope she is not too much side-tracked into the endorsement and popularity fervour that she lost sight of her WC ambition and had less time to train and focus.

Have we not noticed that the Chinese kept very much in the background with their shocked Uber Cup loss to Korea? Their silence is deafening and worrying, I would say! Do you think they would do nothing to recapture their glory days? And having a great abundance of talent even "Queen" Zhu Lin has to be "deported" as she is of not much use to them. China only sent token representation in recent SS and GP tournaments while I suppose their solid senior players remained at home to prepare for the WC summit!

India's Saina Nehwal, the world No 2, has been awarded India's highest sporting honour.

By Rod Gilmour
Published: 4:29PM BST 30 Jul 2010

Joy: Saina Nehwal displays her medals to the crowd on her arrival at the airport in Hyderabad, India in July Photo: AP

India in July Photo: AP Nehwal was named the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award after a string of impressive performances that saw her become the first Indian to win a Super Series title when she triumphed at the 2009 Indonesia Badminton Open.

"I am really happy. It's unbelievable, a dream come true for me," she said. "I have done well in the last two years and the three titles that I won recently have really boosted my confidence.

"I am now preparing for the World Championship and hope to win the title," she said.
Nehwal, this year's All England Championships semi-finalist, is now a serious threat for next month's World Championships in Paris.

Saina Nehwal's training and diet schedule

Originally Posted by george@chongwei

this is specially for chris..

.
Thanks george.

Now, let's look at Saina Nehwal's training and diet schedule.

5:00 am - Day begins with some meditation.

7:30 -11:30 am - A light breakfast of bread, eggs and milk, followed by morning training. This includes playing at the courts with coach Pullela Gopichand, and running (sprints, cross-training and long runs). Saina also does interval training that includes 30 seconds of sprint followed by another 30 seconds of jogging. She does drills that improve reflexes, footwork, accuracy and agility.

1:30 pm - Lunch usually consists of chicken, daal, chapatis and lots of veggies. After lunch, a little rest.

My grandmother wanted a boy: Saina Nehwal

Breaking the traditions of keeping quite over social issues, Saina took the bull by its horns. She has spoken against the skewed *** ratio in her home state and the discrimination a girl/woman has to face even in modern Indian society.

Report from Times of India -

NEW DELHI: She is one of the most sought after female sporting stars in India but when Saina Nehwal was born in patriarchal Haryana, her own grandmother refused to look at her because of the inherent discrimination against the girl child in the state.
"I was really surprised when I was told that my grandmother did not come to see me till a month after my birth. I was born seven years after my only sister Chandranshu and my birth was a big disappointment for her," the ace shuttler, fresh from a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, wrote in a column.
"But in it there is a message that I understand very well now about the discrimination against the girl child," she said.
Saina still counts her blessings for having parents who were liberal enough to allow her pursue sports.
"My mother Usha Rani had represented Haryana in badminton and she was consistent in her encouragement. That helped me build my career successfully and at just 14, I had a sponsor in Bharat Petroleum and Deccan Chronicle now. We live in an apartment bought with my prize money and my parents have taken care that it is in my name," she revealed.
"Many Haryanvi sportspersons, particularly women, are not half as lucky. They do not have generous sponsors even after doing exceedingly well," she rued.
But she lauded the Haryana government's efforts to recognise international performers.
"The Haryana Government has in the last two years offered several incentives - the highest prize money for medal winners at the Commonwealth Games and a car too. No state has matched this so far. This is a welcome sign for sportswomen as it gives them new recognition," she said.
Haryana, which has a skewed *** ratio of 847 women to every 1000 men, is notorious for female infanticide and honour killings.
Saina said given the scenario, it was incredible to have Haryana women doing well in the sporting arena.
"Men are domineering in rural Haryana and that shows in sport too. That Haryanvi women are in the spotlight for their excellent performance and have brought many medals to the state should make a difference," she said.
The 20-year-old revealed that her ties with her relatives have strained on the issue of how the women in the family should be treated.
"My uncles and other relatives are against encouraging girls in every aspect and that includes sports. I hardly interact with them. My parents are more open. They back me all the way," she said.

This feature in 2 parts covers the journey to Gold by some of the women athletes from India in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games. It is worth watching and hearing, and an eye-opener to what a human being can achieve in the face of incredible odds.

This feature in 2 parts covers the journey to Gold by some of the women athletes from India in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games. It is worth watching and hearing, and an eye-opener to what a human being can achieve in the face of incredible odds.

Thanks cobalt for this. This was shown in all major TV channels in India and to be honest a great viewing. Must encourage any athlete to do well....

Soaring "Brand Saina" gets Rs 1 crore per ad deal

Report by The Times Of India (28-Oct-2010)

HYDERABAD: On October 15, reporting Saina Nehwal's thrilling victory in the Commonwealth Games women's singles final, TOI said she was now probably India's best loved sportsperson after Sachin Tendulkar. Corporate India seems to agree. India's badminton sensation, riding high after three consecutive tournanment wins, apart from the CWG triumph, is now being signed up by major brands for an annual fee which is touching the Rs 1 crore mark.
To put that in perspective, Saina now commands a fee that was earlier the preserve of only cricket superstars like Virender Sehwag. Only MS Dhoni and Tendulkar get significantly more than her. Dhoni, apparently, is now offering advertisers the option of paying him by the day, rather than charging an annual fee.
Interestingly, Sania Mirza, who was once eagerly sought after by advertisers, is now said to get a fee of around Rs 25 lakh. Industry sources say her brand value has been hit by her indifferent form as well as her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.
Barely a couple of years ago, Saina's brand equity was valued at a mere 10-15 lakh per endorsement and she didn't have any top brands in her kitty.
From being a brand ambassador of Cancer Society of India and a herbal product, Saina has come a long way to now have on her list companies such as Airtel, Adani Wilmar, Yonex, Jaypee Cements and Star Plus. And the word is that the queue is getting longer by the day, at the head of which is a famous noodle company.
According to sources close to the shuttler, Saina inked two deals - Adani Wilmar and Airtel - in July, each worth Rs 1 crore. She had earlier signed similar deals with Yonex and a City-based daily. Incidentally, a change in her fortunes came about after she switched from Globosport Management Group to Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures last year.
Sources close to the shuttler told TOI on Wednesday that the deal with Jaypee Cements is in the closing stages and that her management firm is in talks with Star Television Group, apparently for a foreword to 20-25 episodes of a serial titled 'Kali Ek Agnipariksha' which is all about a woman shuttler's travails. Saina is likely to be paid Rs 5 lakh per episode.
Apart from these major signings this year, Saina has received 20 gold coins weighing 10g each from Premium Brands, the official sponsor of Indian badminton team. At the bottom end of her endosements, however, is Aspire which fetches her Rs 2 lakh a year, a deal that runs through 2012.
Besides, Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures - who give her a guarantee fee of Rs 1 crore per year and do not take any percentage from the deals they get for her - are likely to hike her guarantee fee
Read more: Soaring Brand Saina gets Rs 1cr per ad deal - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/s...#ixzz13dj5jf7A